Black smoke and loss of power in a 2021 Citroen C3 diesel: suspected diesel particulate filter contamination

Hey buddy, I feel your pain! Had the same problem with my 2018 Citroen C5 the other day. Your behavior is very similar to my car, so it definitely sounds like your DPF is internally defective. The symptoms you describe sounded like a clear case of DPF failure to me. Black smoke, reduced engine power, the warning light and that damn smell sounded very familiar. So yes, I think you might be right in suspecting that the DPF regeneration is not working properly. So I took my car to the garage and as expected, the diesel particulate filter (DPF) was the problem. It was a serious case, the DPF was actually broken internally. The thing had to be completely replaced as it was not possible to repair it. Unfortunately not too good news for you, but you should prepare for the worst, right? I hope this helps you!

(Translated from German)

Hey, thanks for the quick reply! I'm really glad that I'm not the only one with this problem. Your experience seems to fit my situation exactly. Oh dear, so it looks like I'm in for an expensive repair. Can you remember how much it cost you to replace the DPF? And has anything else come up since then that could be related to the original problem? Thanks again for your help!

(Translated from German)

Hey, no problem! That's exactly why we're here, to help each other out, isn't it? On the subject of costs, I can tell you that it wasn't cheap for me. The repair of the diesel particulate filter, which was internally defective, cost me a whopping 1550 euros. That's a lot of money, of course, but let's be honest: something had to be done urgently. Since I had my car in the workshop, the DPF has been running smoothly again and the problem with the heavy load, which you also suspected, has been resolved. So far, nothing else has come up that would be related to the original problem. So you can assume that repairing or replacing the DPF should solve your problem. Hope that helps you a bit, despite the high cost. Good luck, buddy!

(Translated from German)

Hey, thanks for the info! It's bitter that things like this can cost so much money. But you're right, it just has to be done. After all, it's safer and probably cheaper in the long run than waiting until the problem gets worse. Your words really help me and I'm a bit relieved that there probably won't be any more surprises. Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes! See you then, take care!

(Translated from German)